Shore teen among youngest GOP delegates at convention

Jack Salm, a rising Broadwater Academy senior, will presumably be the youngest delegate attending the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. He turns 18 three days before the election.
Jay Diem video

Buy Photo

Jack Salm, a rising senior at Broadwater Academy, will presumably be the youngest delegate when he attends the Republican National Convention in Cleveland on July 18 through 21. Salm will turn 18 on Saturday, Nov. 5, three days before election day. He was recently selected as the unit chairman of the Northampton GOP committee.(Photo: Staff photo by Jay Diem)Buy Photo

A Northampton County teen will almost certainly be the youngest delegate at the 2016 Republican National Convention, which starts Monday in Cleveland, Ohio.

Jack Salm, 17, and a rising senior at Broadwater Academy, will celebrate his 18th birthday on Nov. 5, three days before the election.

The Cape Charles resident in all likelihood will be the youngest of approximately 2,470 delegates and 2,302 alternate delegates from all 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia and territories, at the convention, which takes place July 18-21 at the Quicken Loan Arena.

It is not the first time Salm has been in the position of being a young person chosen from among his elders to play a political role.

In March, Salm was selected as chairman of the Northampton County GOP Committee, making him the youngest Republican committee chair in Virginia.

In that role, he has emphasized reaching out to younger county residents, even recruiting a few classmates to become active with the committee.

Among Salm's goals is to establish a party headquarters for Northampton County for the upcoming election.

This summer, Salm is handling his political assignments along with more typical teen pursuits such as football practice — he is captain of Broadwater's varsity team.

Salm became involved in politics at a young age when his father, John William Salm III, was the Northampton County GOP chairman.

"I was about 9 or 10 years old and he would take me along to all the events — the meetings, the fundraisers, things like that," he said.

At first, the younger Salm didn't completely follow what was going on, but as he grew older and continued attending events, he said, "I started understanding the process of everything, and it was just something I found very interesting and wanted to continue doing."

He traveled with his father to the 2012 Republican convention in Tampa, where the elder Salm was a delegate.

His father recalled Jack told him then that he aspired to be a delegate at the 2016 convention.

CLOSE

Jack Salm, who will presumably be the youngest delegate when he attends the 2016 Republican National Convention in Cleveland, explains the process for becoming a Virginia delegate.
Jay Diem video

Salm was selected at the state GOP convention in April for one of 13 at-large slots in the Virginia delegation — he was among 96 people vying for the spots.

He is looking forward to networking at the convention, especially with other young Republicans, and to getting to know the other Virginia delegates from different parts of the state.

Salm supports presumptive nominee Donald Trump, and has been a Trump supporter since last fall.

"I think the big thing for me is the economic aspects of his campaign. I like his tax plan, specifically — it really takes the burden off middle- and lower-class families. And also, I think he is the best person to manage our $19 trillion and growing debt, which is something I'm going to have to deal with for my entire life," he said.

Salm's parents, John and Joan Salm, are proud of his achievements.

"Jack has demonstrated a level of leadership and maturity that is rare for a young man of his age. He has always been interested in our country," they said.

They noted when Jack was very young, he wanted to learn about all the states, their capitals and flags, as well as all the presidents.

"We had many different plastic placemats with all this information, and they became a great learning tool," John Salm said.

Salm has traveled to a number of other countries, "and he understands that it is a privilege to be born on American soil," his parents said, adding "He also understands that not all Americans are as fortunate as others and constantly strives to change this."

Broadwater Academy Headmaster Joe Spagnolo, who has taught Salm in the classroom over the past few years, noted Salm's "intellect and enthusiasm, both in and out of the classroom."